


tesselation

by bugmadoo



Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Post-Season/Series 05, Snapshots, post 5x16
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 13:04:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6240418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bugmadoo/pseuds/bugmadoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harvey and Mike rebuild their lives together after Mike gets out of prison. Piece by piece.</p>
            </blockquote>





	tesselation

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic in the Suits fandom!! I'm excited. A thousand thanks to [Ashley](http://imnotdaredevil.tumblr.com) for all the help/support and betaing this baby.

Harvey pulls the scarf around his neck a little tighter, trying to protect himself against the harsh wind blowing around the corner of the building. He almost instantly regrets taking his hands out of his pockets, the wind attacking the exposed skin, biting, a thousand needles assaulting him. His fingers feel stiff and clammy when he puts them back into the pockets of his wool coat and he sighs deeply, watching the white fog dissipate slowly.

He’s leaning against the hood of a black town car. His eyes dart around, taking in his surroundings for the nth time. The high fence, the grey building, the bars in front of the windows. It’s not the first time he’s seen this place, but the other times he tried not to dwell on the place but on the person inside of it. He looks back down at the pavement, shuffles his feet, and watches the slush of half-melted snow threaten to leave stains on his shoes.

Harvey wonders if maybe he should go back to waiting in the warmth of the car but he dismisses the thought as quickly as it came. It wouldn’t take much longer now. He’d already waited this long, he could wait another couple of minutes.

Another harsh blow of wind attacked the exposed skin of Harvey’s face and he buried his nose further into his scarf. At least he’s not keeping Ray waiting too, since he drove himself.

Finally, Harvey hears an obnoxious buzzing noise and his head snaps up in time to see a door swing open from the inside, a lone figure stepping out. He’s standing too far away to make out any details but it doesn’t matter. Harvey’s nerve endings seem to stand at attention and he’s hyperaware of his surroundings while his vision singles on who’s walking down the metal steps.

He’s here. Finally.

Harvey stands up, the cold and the wind forgotten, and he can’t help but study Mike intently as he walks past the last gate and steps onto the pavement. Harvey locks his eyes with Mike’s as he steps closer towards Harvey and the car, but he stops a few feet short and closes his eyes. Harvey’s eyebrows draw together in question but before he can say anything Mike is speaking.

“Never thought I’d miss this goddamn wind.”

The laugh that tumbles past Harvey’s lips is involuntary but welcome, especially when Mike joins in a second later and both of them are standing in the cold, outside of the FCI Danbury, simply laughing.

Harvey appreciates the moment, wishing it could last forever. Stretch on for so long it would erase what came before, even though he knows that’s not how it works.  Because of Mike, he knows exactly how long nineteen months could feel like and it’s a lesson on the concept of time he doesn’t intend to ever forget, so he does the only sensible thing and closes the distance to wrap Mike in a firm hug.

Mike reciprocates the hug immediately, burying his face in Harvey’s shoulder, fingers digging into the fabric of Harvey’s coat. He can’t tell how long they stand there like that, if it’s seconds or minutes, but Harvey doesn’t dare break the contact before Mike does.

It takes another icy bout of wind for Mike to shiver and pull away.

“Come on, let’s get you home,” Harvey says, stepping away and opening the passenger door for Mike.

 

* * *

The volume of the TV is set at the normal level but Harvey still feels like it’s too loud. He’s sitting alone on the couch, not really sure what’s actually on even though he’s been staring at it for the last fifteen minutes.

It’s a little weird to go about his day just like he always would when he is all too aware of the fact that there’s another person living within the walls of his condo. He doesn’t know what exactly he expected but in the two days that Mike has been living with him he’s barely seen him at all. Harvey even checked his guest bedroom just to make sure that Mike was still there and he’d found him fast asleep even though it was late in the afternoon.

However, Harvey still has to go to work come Monday and he has no idea what Mike gets up to in the hours that Harvey isn’t home. He supposes that Mike has the freedom to do as he likes now but Harvey can’t help the sting he feels when Mike doesn’t leave his room for the third night in a row.

 

* * *

Harvey’s in the middle of pouring himself a second cup of coffee when he hears a door open and the mug almost drops from his hands. He sets it down carefully and turns around.

Mike is walking out of Harvey’s guest room with what seem like hesitant steps. His shoulders are slumped, his eyes darting around the room as if it’s his first visit to Harvey’s condo.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Good to see you’re not in a coma after all.”

“No, just… working on my Sleeping Beauty impression.”

An amused scoff escapes Harvey’s throat and he grabs a second cup, fills it, and hands it to Mike.

“You okay? You barely left your room the last couple of days.”

“Yeah, yeah just-“ Mike runs his index finger along the brim of the cup in front of him on the counter, looking down, a solemn expression on his face. “I’ve been catching up on sleep, you know.”

The implication of Mike’s sentence sends the familiar wave of guilt over him, a sharp sting in his chest, a pull in the muscles of his shoulders. This is the first time Mike comes even remotely close to talking about his time in prison, a topic Mike steers clear of every time they seem to head towards it, and Harvey indulged him so far if only for the fact that he hasn’t found out how to approach it without choking on it. So for now, Harvey tries not get hung up on it, putting off this particular discussion to another day, and focuses on the easy part.

“Are you saying you’ve been sleeping this entire time?”

Mike raises his eyebrows. “What the hell did you think I was doing?”

“I thought maybe-“ Harvey starts before he realizes what he’s doing and he clenches his eyes shut, mentally chastising himself. He’s not supposed to slip up like this. Mike, however, has always been able to read Harvey a lot better than most people ever have. He reaches across the counter and squeezes Harvey’s hand once.

“I wasn’t trying to avoid you.”

“Sure looked like it, though.” Only after he said them does Harvey realize how condescending the words come across.

Mike looks at him, eyebrows drawn together. “What do you want me to say, Harvey?”

“Nothing,” Harvey says, shaking his head, “sorry.”

Mike nods and picks up his cup of coffee. His eyebrows raise up as he takes a sip.

“Shit, I forgot how good your coffee was. I’m starving.”

They grin at each other.

 

* * *

When Mike reemerges from Harvey’s guest room, Harvey is still sitting at the kitchen counter in the same position as five minutes ago when Mike had received the call, so Harvey doesn’t even try to pretend that he hasn’t been waiting for Mike.

Surprisingly, Mike’s face doesn’t give anything away, his poker face is miles better than it used to be and it throws Harvey off a little. Mike comes to a stop next to Harvey, phone still clutched in one hand. Harvey looks back up into Mike’s face before he starts talking.

“What did they say?”

Mike takes an audible breath. “Position was already taken. Which roughly translates to ‘you’re a felon, we don’t want you’.”

“You know I could still call-“

“How many times do you need me to tell you that I don’t want your help with this, Harvey?”

“Fuck.” Mike rubs his hands over his face and stares at the countertop. “I knew finding a new job would be hard but not  _ this _ hard.”

It’s on the tip of Harvey’s tongue to tell him that he could change that with one phone call but he hadn’t forgotten the shouting match that had ensued the last time he did so he leaves it. He still hates to see Mike like this though, frustrated and tired. Even though Mike slept a lot after he got released, the dark circles under his eyes haven’t completely vanished and Harvey wishes he knew how long it would take for Mike to catch up on two years’ worth of rest.

Harvey reaches out his arm and places his hand on Mike’s shoulder.

 

* * *

 

 

The delicious smell of tomatoes and onions and something else wafts into Harvey’s nose as soon as he opens the door to his condo and he stops in his tracks. For a second he thinks that this might be the best thing he’s ever smelled in his life but then again, hunger is the best cook after all, so he’s not sure if he’d change his mind if he hadn’t skipped lunch today. He closes the door behind him and walks along the short hallway to find Mike absorbed in work in the kitchen.

“Mike?”

He jumps and turns around. “Hey, Harvey. Hungry?”

“Did you know that I hate alliterations? Especially ones involving my name.”

“Noted,” Mike said, throwing the towel over his shoulder, “you ready for the best pasta sauce you ever had in your life?”

Harvey sets down the briefcase he is carrying and walked over to the kitchen counter, sitting down in one of the barstools and watching Mike use Harvey’s kitchen with a surprising ease.

“You’re throwing around some big words there, Martha Stewart.”

“Just wait, Harvey, just wait.”

“Mike, every single person thinks that their spaghetti sauce is the best one.”

“Huh,” Mike huffs and suddenly he looks a thousand miles away, his eyes unfocused and lost.

“Mike?” Harvey asks tentatively, his hand raising to Mike’s shoulder.

“Sorry.” Mike shakes his head and scratched the back of his head, smiling. “You just reminded me of something.”

Familiar worry fills Harvey again, his eyebrows drawing together, but Mike puts on a bright smile and turns back towards the stove, stirring something. Harvey decides to let it go and speaks again.

“Do you want me to set the table?”

“Already did,” Mike says without turning, and points over his shoulder with his thumb. Since there are no plates on the counter, Harvey turns and is surprised to find the dinner table set for two, complete with a bottle of wine and napkins.

When Harvey turns back around, Mike is holding out a spoonful of sauce and Harvey hesitates for a second before tasting it, keeping his eyes on Mike’s. Harvey raises his eyebrows when the rich taste fills his mouth.

“That’s …”  _ amazing _ , he thinks, “adequate.”

Mike lets out a loud laugh. “You’re full of shit.”

Harvey grins. “Maybe I’ll change my mind if you give me some more.”

 

* * *

Harvey can’t keep himself from yelling this time. “Why the hell didn’t you just let me turn myself in?”

It’s like the words detonate something inside of Mike and all Harvey can do is watch.

“Because I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself Harvey!” Mike shouts, face red and the veins of his neck bulging. “I couldn’t have handled being responsible for  _ you _ going to  _ prison _ !”

Harvey takes a step closer, Mike in arm’s reach now. He hopes his face doesn’t convey half as much anger as he feels inside his chest right now, and takes a deep breath.

“What the  _ hell _ made you think that I could handle it, Mike?”

The tension that was so prominent in every muscle of Mike’s body now sags, confusion and disbelief showing in the lines of his face. “What?”

“You getting locked up was  _ my _ goddamn fault, Mike. Mine.” Harvey is breathing heavily, his eyes glassy now. “I had to watch you go to that shithole because of  _ me _ !”

Harvey tries his hardest to keep his voice from breaking but he can  _ feel _ his vocal cords snapping at the last word and he flinches.

“Harvey, I made my case, I practically forced you to hire me.”

“Yes, but _ I _ made the call.  _ I _ hired you.  _ I _ should have known better.”

Mike is silent for an uncomfortable moment. “So you regret it?”

Harvey is taken aback by the question and he doesn’t know how to answer. His first feeling is betrayal because he can’t believe Mike needs to ask, but the second feeling is the need to reassure him. He’s torn between yes and no, oscillating between the two like a compass needle swinging from north to south. Harvey knows for sure that he doesn’t regret anything up until Mike got arrested but he regrets a lot that happened afterwards. He can’t really think of a way of explain this to Mike without giving away the big reason behind it.

“Harvey,” Mike start again and Harvey isn’t sure if he’s only imagining the tremble in his voice, “do you really regret meeting me?”

Harvey looks at the floor, shaking his head. “No, Mike, no. That’s not the part I regret.”

“Which part is it then?”

“Not getting you out of that whole thing when I still could. I should have turned myself in long before the trial started.”

“I wouldn’t have let you.”

“I’m all too aware of that, Mike. Believe me.”

Harvey wants this conversation to be over, wants to turn around and walk back into the bedroom, the look on Mike’s face suddenly filled with an emotion Harvey can’t name but he’s not sure he’s willing to confront. Their argument had been brewing all day if not all week and was going on for a while now and all Harvey wants is to close his eyes and breathe. He almost does it, enough words exchanged today for the argument to be over but then Mike is speaking again.

“I loved you.” Mike takes a shuddering breath. “You didn’t deserve to go down because of me.”

Harvey swallows heavily, trying his hardest to reign his features in so they won’t give away the inner turmoil roaring inside him all of a sudden.

_ Loved. _ “Past tense?”

Mike smiles softly. “Present tense. Very much so.”

 

* * *

“Har _ vey _ ,” Mike all but whines when Harvey finally releases Mike’s right nipple from the grip of his teeth.

“Mike,” Harvey answers breathlessly before kissing Mike’s sternum and moving on to the other nipple, sucking, licking and nibbling. He’d found out early on how sensitive Mike’s nipples were and has been taken advantage of it ever since and tonight is no different from any other time.

Mike’s grip on Harvey’s hair tightens when Harvey moves further down Mike’s body, leaving kisses on as much skin as he can manage. Down, down, down, until Harvey’s lips find the head of Mike’s cock and he murmurs a quick  _ fuck _ when Harvey licks a thick strip along the shaft.

“Open your eyes, Mike,” Harvey says and waits until Mike raised his head and is looking straight into Harvey’s eyes before he swallows Mike down.

Harvey wastes absolutely no time and bobs his head up and down Mike’s dick, swirling his tongue over the smooth head and sucking hard, his own cheeks hallowing. Mike’s hands grip harder into Harvey’s hair this time, urging him on and on, always more, while Harvey revels in the feeling of Mike heavy in his mouth, the unique combination of tastes exploding on his tongue. Moans leave Mike’s throat in rapid succession, each one a different pitch and volume, and Harvey thinks that he may never have learned to play an instrument as a kid but Mike might as well count as one, considering the sounds he knows how to draw from him at this point.

The sight of Mike throwing his head back in pleasure, his skin flushed and his fingers twisting in Harvey’s hair, is more intoxicating than a tumbler of his favorite Scotch and his head feels a little lighter. He holds Mike’s hips down, preventing him from thrusting into Harvey’s mouth, and he keeps sucking firmly, working his tongue along in circling patterns. Then Harvey goes one step further and hums deeply around Mike, the vibrations of it sending a jolt of electricity up Mike’s spine and down his dick and his back arches off the mattress, hissing a sharp  _ fuck _ in the process. Harvey just keeps going, making Mike gasp for air while cursing and muttering meaningless strings of words under his breath.

“Harvey,” Mike pants, “I need – Come up here.“

Harvey releases Mike’s cock with an obscene pop and crawls up Mike’s body. His lips end up hovering just over Mike’s, teasing and tempting.

“Need what?” Harvey whispers.

“You,” Mike barely gets out before he presses their lips together, pulling Harvey closer, wrapping his legs around Harvey’s hips.

The kiss is hungry and needy which Harvey really can’t object to. Mike is framing Harvey’s face with both of his hands, seemingly never satisfied with their proximity, always needing more. His feet push against Harvey’s ass, pulling him closer, his hands roam over Harvey’s back and shoulders, and Harvey feels the vibrations of Mike’s moans against his own lips. Every little thing Mike does is a sensation attacking Harvey’s nerve endings, travelling along his muscles and seeping into his bloodstream. His body is subjected to sensory overload and he never wants this to end.

Eventually, Harvey needs to pull away and catch his breath but he doesn’t go far, just far enough that he can stare at Mike under him, take in even the smallest of his facial features.

“You got me,” Harvey mutters, resuming their earlier conversation, and Mike’s responding smile is flooding with fondness.

Mike kisses him once, short and sweet. “Then let’s get on with it. Need you.”

Harvey can feel Mike’s eyes on him when he leans over Mike to the bedside table to grab lube and condoms.

 

* * *

Mike wakes up again just when Harvey exits the highway after a three hour drive out of the city. He tries his best to keep his eyes on the road and not watch as Mike blinks the sleep out of his eyes. Harvey is more or less successful.

“We there yet?”

Harvey can’t help the grin spreading on his face.

“What?” Mike asks and Harvey glances at him, his hair sticking up where he leaned it against the glass of the window.

“You sound like toddler,” Harvey replies and Mike shakes his head.

“Not all of us can be on top of their game right after waking up.”

Harvey turns again and they drive down an unpaved path, tall trees on both sides, and if Mike wasn’t awake already, the up and down of Harvey’s car would have done the trick. As it is, Harvey stops the car after three more minutes of Mike gripping the door handle tightly. Mike takes in their surroundings again, the questions obvious on his face but Harvey doesn’t offer any explanations. Yet.

“We’re here?” Mike asks, hands resting on his seat belt, ready to unsnap it.

“We’re here.”

“What exactly  _ is _ here?”

Harvey opens the door and gets out of the car. “Less talking, more helping me unload.”

Together they grab all the bags in the back of the car and Harvey leads them toward a small path through the forest. Mike follows him dutifully and without asking the million questions that must be racing through his head, much to Harvey’s surprise.

It’s a short walk and soon they emerge from the forest, their destination in plain sight. It takes Harvey a second to realize that the sound of Mike’s footsteps is missing. He turns around.

“Questions?”

“You own a cabin in the woods?”

“You still have it in you, Sherlock,” Harvey quips and walks up the stairs to the front door.

The sound of Mike’s footsteps comes back to life as Harvey fetches the keys and unlocks the door.

“What are you planning, Harvey?” Mike asks, stopping in the hallway.

Mike looks at Harvey expectantly and the surge of nervousness shooting into his chest surprises Harvey. “You, me, no phones, and nothing else to keep us from doing as little as possible.” Mike doesn’t immediately respond but keeps looking around, so Harvey continues, his voice softer than he intended. “I thought we could use some down time. Was that wrong?”

“No, no. This is –“ Mike stops his feet and looks directly at Harvey, “It’s perfect. Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me yet. Let me show you around.”

 

* * *

Mike laughs incredulously. “What?”

“Yell it out, Mike!” Harvey repeats louder this time, spreading his arms and taking a few steps back. “We’re surrounded by nothing but nature for miles on end. Nobody’s going to hear you.”

“So what? You just want me to yell about my problems to a forest.”

“The forest, mother nature, god, fate. Whatever you wanna call it.”

Mike scoffs. “Remember that conversation we had about you not being my shrink? Because I do, it kinda stuck with me.”

“I’m not trying to be. Just … give it a try, it’ll make you feel better.”

“I’m  _ fine _ , Harvey, I don’t-“

“You’re not fine, Mike.”

“If you ever listened to me you’d-“

“You haven’t been fine for a while.”

“For the last time, I’m fine!”

“Stop pretending, Mike!”

Mike flinches at Harvey’s last words and Harvey knows he’s hit a nerve. Press where it hurts.

“If anyone has any reason not to be fine, it’s you.”

“Harvey, I really don’t want to shout at the goddamn sky. You know I don’t even believe in god.”

“So what?” Harvey asks, taking a few steps backwards, but keeping his eyes on Mike.

“This is ridiculous,” Mike mumbles, looking down, hands in his pockets. He looks defeated, Harvey thinks. Exhausted. Mike has every right to be but fuck if Harvey didn’t at least try to do anything about it. He walks around Mike in a circle, never taking his eyes off of him, watching for signs that give Mike away.

The fact that Mike’s inner workings are much harder to read ever since he got out of prison is like a stab in Harvey’s chest and he really doesn’t like dwelling on it. Mike is still Mike though, and Harvey is still Harvey and he’s never backed down from a challenge before and he’s not about to start now. He just needs to cut through all that stubbornness. So Harvey continues. Press where it hurts.

“Life handed you one shitty card after the other, Mike, and you’re not a saint. You’re angry.”

Mike is still looking at the ground. “Harvey, don’t-“

“Your parents died when you were in goddamn Middle School, leaving you all alone with your grandmother.”

Mike is biting his bottom lip, obviously trying to keep himself from retaliating.

“Twelve years old and already an orphan. That really sucked, didn’t it?”

“You have no right-“

“But you always were a smart kid, you get into to college. Life seems to turn around, right? Only you get thrown out of the goddamn door for doing one stupid thing!” Harvey raises his voice, watching as Mike clenches his eyes shut.

“You’re entire future shot to shit because of bad life choices your supposed best friend drove you to! He even gets to graduate while you have to work-”

“Stop-“

“- only just scraping by and one day by some stroke of luck you get a shot at your dream job. You get recognition for your talent, admiration, money, a fiancée.”

“Don’t start with-“

“But all of that goes away one by one, doesn’t it? People find out about you being a fraud and use you. By now even Rachel is gone-“

“Harvey, stop baiting me!”

“- and to top everything off, you had to go to  _ prison _ for finally getting to do what you always dreamed of-“

“FUCK YOU!” Mike finally yells and Harvey takes a step back, letting Mike have this moment.

“Fuck you for taking everything I ever wanted! Fuck you for handing me all these shitty cards! Fuck you for letting all that shit happen to me!” Mike raises his fist towards the sky, face upturned and Harvey may not be able to see Mike’s expression but the set of his shoulders give him away. This is working. It’s working.

“But you’re still here!” Harvey bellows, trying to suppress a smile.

“I’m still here!”

“And you’re going to be fine!”

“And I’m going to-“ Mike starts shouting again but his voice gives way to a sob and a mumbled ’fuck.’

Harvey can tell the exact moment the dam inside Mike finally breaks. Mike falls forward on his hands and knees and in the few seconds it takes Harvey to cross the distance between them, Mike’s torso is shaking with sobs.

Mike doesn’t resist when Harvey pulls him into his lap, his body too tired to resist. Harvey tightens his arms around him, squeezing as much as he dares to. His lips are resting against Mike’s temple, occasionally placing a comforting peck against it.

“You’re going to be fine, Mike,” Harvey murmurs against Mike’s temple and Mike’s fingers dig deeper into Harvey’s shoulder, pulling himself even closer.

 

* * *

The sun has long since set and it’s been dark in the bedroom for hours and hours, but Harvey knows that Mike is still lying awake next to him in bed.

“I came here after my dad died and I made junior partner,” Harvey murmurs into the dark, not sure if Mike will reply. “Spent most of the weekend just-“ He stops himself, not sure what to say.

“What?”

“Trying to understand, I guess.” Harvey turns his head and the faint moonlight from outside is enough to see that Mike is lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. “I threw myself into work at first but at some point that didn’t work anymore.”

Mike turns on his side, looking at Harvey and scooting closer, one knee resting on Harvey’s thigh.

“Yeah,” Mike swallows, “remember, I did the same thing after Grammy died.”

“And then we got high together,” Harvey recalled, a bright grin spreading on his face at the memory.

“We uncovered the entirety of the Hardman conspiracy that night, too.”

“The Hardman conspiracy?”

“Yeah,” Mike replied simply and when he continued his voice was grave and deep, “The Hardman Conspiracy: in theatres soon.”

“Unbelievable,” Harvey laughed and pressed a kiss against Mike’s forehead.

Comfortable silence engulfed them after both their laughter subsided, the darkness covering them like a warm blanket, a haven of safekeeping. 

“You know,” Mike whispered into the space between them, “you’re the only person I never lied to. I lied to so many people about so many things but you always knew everything there was to know.”

The admission surprises Harvey, and  he tries his hardest to swallow down the lump that seems to form in his throat. He tries to think of what to say but he comes up short, no words that come to his mind big enough to equal Mike’s, so Harvey shifts and presses a soft kiss against Mike’s lips.

Harvey is content to just lay there, Mike’s head resting on Harvey’s chest, and slowly drift off to sleep, but Mike apparently has other plans and his voice filters through the silence again. “Starting over is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Harder than the other times I had to do it.” Mike kisses Harvey’s chest. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“You’re a brave person, Mike,” Harvey says, voice low like it’s a secret nobody else deserves to hear, “and I’m proud of you.”

“I-,” Mike starts, but stops himself for a long second, “thank you, Harvey. For everything.”

“You’re welcome,” Harvey mumbles, lips brushing against the top of Mike’s head. Harvey’s hand blindly searches for Mike’s and after a few moments of shuffling he finds it and their fingers entwine. He finally closes his eyes and feels Mike squeeze his hand reassuringly. Harvey lifts their hands and places a lingering kiss on the back of Mike’s hand before placing it back down on top of the comforter, sleep already seeping into his system.

**Author's Note:**

> come find me on tumblr @ [caputdraconis](http://caputdraconis.tumblr.com)


End file.
